Monthly Archives: November 2009

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MONTEBELLO — Police asked the public’s help Wednesday in finding a 16-year-old girl believed to have run away with her boyfriend nearly two weeks ago.Christy Gomez was last seen Nov. 13 when she was dropped off in the morning at Schurr High School, 820 N. Wilcox Ave., Montebello police said in a written statement.No foul play is suspected and police believe Gomez ran away with her boyfriend, the statement said, however officials are growing concerned because of the length of time she has been gone.Police believe Gomez may be staying in the Fontana area.She is described as 5 feet 9 inches tall, about 210 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.Anyone with information is asked to call the Montebello Police Department.

A Pasadena man accused of killing his wife with a hatchet and trying to kill her son earlier this year received a December date for his preliminary hearing Wednesday.The preliminary hearing for James Che Ming Lu, 85, was scheduled for Dec. 9 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, court officials said.Prosecutors allege Lu used a hatchet to kill his wife, 55-year-old Michelle Lu, on the morning of July 28 at their home in the 100 block of Rosemead Boulevard in an unincorporated county area near Pasadena.He then called sheriff’s deputies to inform them of the crime, Detective Marcelo Quintero of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau said.Following the attack, “Mr. Lu called the authorities… and told them essentially that he had injured his wife,” Quintero said.When deputies arrived, they found Michelle Lu suffering from multiple stab wounds apparently inflicted by a hatchet, officials said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.A hatchet believed to be the murder weapon was recovered.James Lu is also charged with the attempted murder of his wife’s son, 32-year-old Ji Ma Zeng, who Quintero said managed to take the hatchet away from Lu after the alleged slaying.“The son did deflect a blow from the ax and was able to disarm (James Lu),” the detective said.Zeng fled to a neighbor’s house, Quintero said, as James Lu called the sheriff’s Temple Station to report the incident.A judge issued a restraining order in late July, ordering James Lu to stay 500 feet away from Zeng.Outside of domestic violence, a specific motive in the suspected killing has not been established, Quintero said.“We know they were arguing,” he said. “There was allegedly some fighting.”According to sheriff’s booking records, James Lu was being held in lieu of $2 million bail.He faces life in prison if convicted.

SAN DIMAS — A gunman robbed a San Dimas gas station Sunday, officials said.The robbery was reported about 7:50 p.m. at a Valero station at 102 E. Arrow Highway.The robber was described as a black man, about 5 feet 5 inches tall and 140 to 150 pounds, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Joe Bolanos said.He wore a white jacket and blue jeans and was armed with a small, black, semi-automatic handgun, the sergeant added.Bolanos said the robber was last seen running south on San Dimas Avenue with an undisclosed amount of cash.

LA CAADA FLINTRIDGE — A person was killed Sunday when a pickup truck overturned and caught fire on the 210 Freeway, officials said.The crash occurred just before 3 p.m. in the westbound lanes of the 210 Freeway, just east of the 2 Freeway, according to California Highway Patrol logs.One person was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said, however no description of that person was immediately available.The truck was westbound on the freeway when, for unknown reasons, it suddenly swerved to the left and struck the center divider, CHP Officer Monica Posada said.“The truck overturned onto its driver-side,” she said. “It came to rest and was engulfed in flames.”The driver of the pickup truck died at the scene.Officials said a motorcyclist was injured and an SUV was damaged when they were struck by debris in the eastbound lanes of the 210 Freeway.Both directions of the freeway were initially shut down after the crash, officials said.Eastbound lanes of the freeway were reopened within about half an hour, and two lanes of the westbound freeway were opened to traffic as of 4 p.m.The crash was the second fatal wreck reported on the 210 Freeway Sunday.In Sunland, a man, woman and 14-year-old boy were killed after their SUV rear-ended a big rig and burst into flames during the early morning hours, authorities said.Two other children who were in the SUV — a 9-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy — were rescued from the wreckage by a good Samaritan. They were hospitalized in fair condition.

ROSEMEAD — A man held up a Jack in the Box restaurant at gunpoint Sunday, authorities said.The crime was reported about 7:30 a.m. at the eatery at 820 San Gabriel Boulevard, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Abel Moreno said.A robber described only a a Latino man in his 20s armed with a handgun entered the store and demanded cash from the register, the sergeant said.He was last seen running from the area with an undisclosed amount of stolen cash, he said.

WEST COVINA — A man was shot to death early Sunday during a house party, marking the eighth homicide in the city this year, officials said.Billy Eugene Howell, 33, died at the scene of the shooting, said Selena Barros, investigator with the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner. Coroner’s officials had not determined Howell’s city of residency late Sunday, but a friend of the man said he lived in Washington and was in West Covina for the holidays.The shooting was reported about 1:30 a.m. at a house in the 100 block of South Cherrywood Street, just south of the 10 Freeway, West Covina police Lt. David Rozeboom said.A small group of people had gathered at the home for a party when the shooting occurred, he said.Officers responding to several 9-1-1 calls found Howell had been shot several times, Rozeboom said.“Following the shooting, those in attendance ran for cover and were not able to provide much information as to the suspect,” West Covina police Cpl. Rudy Lopez said in a written statement.Two suspects in the shooting were described only as male.Jennifer Pokrazywinksi, 36, lives in the home where Howell was shot and said she had been friends with Howell since they were teenagers.He had arrived in town Saturday to spend the holidays with her and her family, Pokrazywinksi said.She said about a dozen people were at the gathering including a friend of Howell’s, who in turn invited some other friends.Two men whom nobody in the home recognized showed up about 30 minutes before the shooting, Pokrazywinksi said.“It’s when those two (men) came is when the trouble started,” she said.Pokrazywinksi — who did not actually see the three strangers — was in her bedroom when she heard gunshots.“I ran out (of the bedroom). I saw him lying on the floor,” she said. “I just remember kneeling by him and doing CPR.”Pokrazywinksi said the unidentified men fled immediately after the shooting.A bullet hole was visible in her living room wall Sunday afternoon.Pokrazywinksi said she believes someone must know who the shooter was, and she hopes they come forward.“He had a really good heart,” she said of Howell, who is survived by two young children. “He had a rough life and he was trying to fight to make it better.”Sunday’s shooting was the eighth homicide in the city this year, and the fourth violent attack to occur at a West Covina house party in less than a month.*A 16-year-old Baldwin Park boy was shot and wounded on Oct. 31 when a fight erupted in front of a house party in the 1900 block of East Nanette Avenue.*Ramiro Limon, 27, of East Los Angeles died and his brother was wounded Nov. 1 after he was shot outside a house party at Shadydale Avenue and Roxbury Street.*Two men were wounded in a stabbing Nov. 7 outside a house party in the 3700 block of Garvey Avenue.

SOUTH PASADENA — A man was found fatally shot sitting in the passenger seat of a car early Sunday, authorities said.The man’s name was not released pending notification of his family, however he was described as a 35-year-old Latino man, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Investigator Selena Barros said.The discovery was made about 4:20 a.m. in the 1000 block of Arroyo Drive, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Deputy Byron Ward said.In a written statement, Deputy Lillian Peck said the body was first found by a police officer.“A South Pasadena patrol officer saw a vehicle parked… with the windows fogged up,” the statement said. “When the officer checked the suspicious vehicle, he discovered the victim sitting in the front passenger seat, murdered.”Detectives from the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau are helping South Pasadena police in the investigation, and anyone with information is asked to contact detectives at (323) 890-5500.Sheriff’s homicide detectives had already left the scene early Sunday afternoon, however South Pasadena police kept the area cordoned off with yellow crime scene tape and used dogs to continue searching for possible evidence.The slaying was South Pasadena’s first in more than three years, South Pasadena police Cpl. Matt Petersen said.Armando Reynaga, 28, of Eagle Rock was fatally stabbed in the parking lot of a Carrows restaurant in the 800 block of Fremont Avenue.Officials said Reynaga had been meeting his estranged wife at the parking lot for several weeks prior to the stabbing to exchange custody of their young child.The case remains unsolved.

POMONA — Police shot and wounded a man late Friday, however little information about the incident was provided.The shooting occurred about 7:45 p.m. in the 1400 block of Edgehill Drive, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Diane Hecht said in a written statement.A person described only as a black man was wounded, and no officers were injured, Hecht said. The condition of the wounded man was not released.The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau is assisting the Pomona Police Department in the investigation and handling the release of information to the public, as is common in officer-involved shooting investigations involving police department within Los Angeles County.Sheriff’s officials released no further information about the shooting Saturday afternoon.

GLENDORA — A parolee was behind bars Saturday on suspicion of head-butting a woman and seriously injuring her, police said.Ryan Laing, 38, of Azusa was arrested at his home and booked on suspicion of felony battery about an hour after the alleged attack, which occurred just before 10 a.m. in the 900 block of Walnut Avenue in Glendora, Glendora police Lt. Rob Lamborghini said.There was an argument between Laing, his girlfriend and the alleged victim, who was an acquaintance of the girlfriend, prior to the attack, the lieutenant said.Laing head-butted the alleged victim, a 34-year-old Glendora woman, causing a large gash to her head, said Lamborghini.The woman was hospitalized and released after receiving 17 stitches, he added.Police tracked Laing to his home in the 1000 block of E. Gaillard Street in Azusa shortly after the incident, Lamborghini said, and he surrendered when officers surrounded the home and ordered him out.He was being held without bail, he said, and was expected to be arraigned Monday in West Covina Superior Court.

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